Pumpkin Buzzard - Urban Megafauna [Jeshimoth Entertainment - 2013]“Urban Megafauna” is the 17th album from this wonky ‘n’ unwell Missouri based multi-genre project. And this 2013 release offers up fifteen slices of wacky ‘n’ deranged song craft that mixes together elements of: Off-kilter synth pop, jaunting day-glow synth melodies, crooked world music rhythms & trilingual vocals, arcade game sounds, slurred & unwell white-boy rap, male cartoon meets slight unhinged frat boy vocals, wonky IDM & off angle dips into other electronic sub-genres, and what-ever- else-they–fancy throwing in. I guess to start with this is one of the more approachable & playful Pumpkin Buzzard albums, as many of the tracks here have memorable bright melodies, fairly short run-times, and slight less off-tune & odd sounding edges. Yet, as the album progresses things do start to get slow more skewed, noisy, off-angle & darker- as the slightly cartoon sounding male vocals get more deranged & wonkily layered up, and more off-kilter electro textures are added. Along with the odd sway of roughly wavery/ discordant guitar elements, sudden brain battering drum attack ’n’ growls, and the genreal sonic odd-ness gets more biting….. yet though-out it (mostly) just mangers to stay tuneful & approach-able. If I was compare Urban Megafauna to anything I’d say it’s like a bright yet odd funhouse, which seems slightly strange yet fun to start with- yet the further you go in, you notice the bright colours are slight chipped & faded, there’s an odd smell, and you keep getting the feeling you might be been followed by some one…yet you still seem to be enjoying your visit. Roger Batty
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